SMS alert to burn a hole in bank account holders’ pocket

New Delhi: Although banks have not increased the charges on ATM or bank transactions yet, there are few other services which will witness a hike. The proposed hike in making a demand draft, accessing a duplicate pin or even receiving an SMS alert could burn a bigger hole in customers’ pocket.

The banks have started to increase the charges for providing financial services. Axis Bank, Dhanlaxmi Bank and Union Bank will soon hike their financial services. Union Bank and SBI have raised their service charge few days ago.

The Axis Bank customer will have to pay Rs 350 instead of Rs 200 on failure of ECS debit. The bank is charging flat Rs 100 for providing duplicate pin and for cancelling a demand draft. Also, if the customer’s savings account does not have a minimum balance, he or she will have to pay an amount of Rs 250.

Dhanlaxmi Bank has decided to charge 50 paise for each SMS alert. As of now, other banks are charging 15 paise for the SMS service. City Union Bank has increased its locker charges ranging from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000. Union Bank has increased the fee from Rs 38 to Rs 50 for making a demand draft up to Rs 10,000.

However, the banks are yet to arrive at consensus over increasing ATM transaction fees. RBI has asked the banks to respond on the proposal of hiking transaction charges within 15 days.